City of Mesquite continues efforts to engage more residents

File photo
Courtesy of the city of Mesquite

Mesquite News
By Winston Henvey / Star Local Media
June 16, 2023

The city of Mesquite is continuing its efforts to engage more residents throughout the community.

At a city council meeting last week, Communications Director Whitney Golin highlighted how the city’s communications department has refreshed its brand, increased bilingual communication and added new content series in addition to other changes.

According to the city’s analytics, most residents access information from its Facebook page, its website and Mainstream, a monthly newsletter.

Recently, the newsletter underwent a redesign, featuring updated graphics, Spanish translation, online availability and a more concise read, Golin said.

Another recent series from the city is the Mesquite mayor’s “On the Move” video series, where Mayor Dan Aleman visits local organizations and businesses to inform residents on what Mesquite has to offer.

Mesquite’s “Word on the Street” has also revamped the city’s road report, informing residents what roads are under construction.

Since the city refreshed its branding and website, it has seen more residents spend more time on its website, including Spanish-speaking residents. While it has a smaller audience, the city’s Instagram page is growing after attempts were made to post more frequent and engaging posts. Both Facebook and Instagram audiences have grown over 60%, with Facebook reaching 1.05 million followers and Instagram reaching 18,479. The city’s most engaged post on Facebook was Movies in the Park, while on Instagram, it was the city’s new spray park. Golin said that each post featured photos of real residents, which generally trends better than stock photos and graphics.

Golin said that the city also condensed all of its ways to connect with city services onto one card, which sits on racks in city facilities and on Mesquite’s “connect with us” page. The also includes organizations like Keep Mesquite Beautiful, Downtown Mesquite and Historic Mesquite, Inc. on a rack card catered toward events and things to do.

As the city aims to continue increasing bilingual communications and marketing campaigns for Spanish-speaking residents. To engage more young residents, the city aims to have shorter, more frequent reels on some of its social media platforms. Additionally, Golin said the city will begin establishing a presence on Twitter and Linkedin to garner more engagement with city news.